Life Inventory

“For things to change, you’ve got to change. For things to get better, you’ve got to get better. It’s easy to do. But it’s easy not to do, too.”

“We have so much room for improvement. Every aspect of our lives must be subjected to an inventory… of how we are taking responsibility.” Nancy Pelosi

Take a look at your life right now. Really, examine it. Take an inventory of your finances, your health, your job, and your relationships. Are you comfortable? Are you stressed? Are you happy at your job? I mean, do you really enjoy it? Are you able to provide for yourself and/or your family and able to obtain all that you need and want for yourself and them? What debts do you owe? – Mortgage(s)? Credit cards? Student loans? Doctor bills? Car payments? What about your health – feeling pretty healthy? Have you been sick a good bit? Are you taking steps to preserve your health and weight management? Is any aspect of the aforementioned causing rifts in your relationships with your family, your friends, and/or your co-workers? Are the relationships you have with others strained due to the nature of the relationships themselves; i.e., are those with whom you have a relationship with bringing you down, keeping you from succeeding, not allowing you to fulfill your goals and dreams? What are your goals? Do you have any or are you just riding the wave of comfort-ability in hopes that something falls in your lap?

Now, think about where you are two years from now. Are you still at the same job and are you enjoying it? Think you’ve gotten a raise by now? Are you hanging out with the same people that you’ve become “comfortable” with due to the fact that you’ve already been hanging out with them for a while now? How is your health now? Have you put on a few pounds? Are you seeing the doctor more often? Are you “feeling” older? Are you any less stressed or more relaxed? More importantly, are you any closer to meeting your goals?

What about five years from now? How about ten? Are you still working at the same place? If not, where do you think you’re working? Is there some plan that you’ve already put in place that assures you that you won’t be at the same job or you just “think” you won’t be at the same place in ten years? Plain and simple, what the hell are you doing with your life now that is going to give you financial freedom and preserve your health for the next two, five, ten years and for the rest of your life?

I know the majority of you reading this are not going to be able to answer some of these questions. To be honest, I’m absolutely certain that a few months ago I couldn’t have.

In October 2012, I realized I had been lying to myself. I had been lying to myself for years. I found myself telling all my friends, family, and even myself that I would not be living in Montgomery much longer and that I would soon return home to Louisiana. Heck, I even told my friends and family in Louisiana that I would be living back home soon. I honestly didn’t believe I would be living in Alabama for much longer, much less Montgomery; however, when I sat down and thought about it, I realized that nothing I was doing was helping me get any closer to reaching my goal of returning home. At that moment, I felt trapped. How exactly was I going to get back home? I couldn’t just quit my job and hope to find one paying the same amount or more. I certainly couldn’t work somewhere that would pay me less. Hell, I was barely scraping by as it was. You know what else I planned on doing? I had been planning to take care of my parents when they could no longer care for themselves. What a joke! I was barely taking care of myself as it was. My debt – $200,000+. Yeah, student loans, credit cards, vet bills, and year-old doctor bills add up.

I realized I had just been telling myself, “Someday. Someday I’ll be moving back home. Someday I’ll be able to afford it. Someday I won’t have financial struggles and I will be set. Someday I’ll be able to take care of my family.” Who the hell was I kidding? I haven’t had a raise in five years and I’m not getting one from my current job anytime soon. If anything, my situation is much worse than it was when I began practicing law due to inflation and my student loan payments graduating. By the way, student loan companies don’t care if your financial situation has improved or not. If it’s time for your loans to graduate, guess what… they are graduating! That’s right – your payments are getting jacked up pal!

For the past couple weeks I have been reading one of the most influential books I have ever read. It’s a game-changer and has most definitely become the driving force behind this post. Here’s an excerpt from that book, The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson:

“Some day, when I have the time, I’m going to … Some day, when I have the money, I’m going to … Have you ever said that? “Some day … ” It’s a way we have of reinforcing the illusion that the future is safely far removed, that it doesn’t really touch us. It’s a lie. Not an intentional, willful deception, but a lie nonetheless.”

Do you relate to that? I do, without a doubt. How ’bout this:

“…if I didn’t choose to do something to become successful, I was going to become unsuccessful for the rest of my life. Think about that. If you don’t figure out something to be successful at, you have to be unsuccessful at it for the rest of your life.”

What are you saying “someday” about? What plans do you have that you don’t have plans for? How are you going to reach your goals, your aspirations, your dreams? I know the majority, the large majority, of you are probably finding that your breathing isn’t normal right now whether it’s because you’re panicked or feeling trapped and a little claustrophobic, maybe. When I asked myself the above questions I started to freak out. I didn’t want to be trapped by my job. I didn’t want to feel trapped in the same city, the same state, the same place all because I don’t have the money to go where I want, live where I want, or work where I want. That’s a terrible feeling.

I’ve got good news if you’re just now realizing what I realized a few months ago. I was introduced to a solution that would change my life forever. It has allowed me to pay off over $18,000 in debt in just over two months at a rate of over $230 per day. If you would’ve told me that would happen a few months ago I would’ve asked you if you planned on me winning the lottery. The fact is, those numbers are 100% accurate and I’m not the only one who can do that.

“[f]or things to change, you’ve got to change. For things to get better, you’ve got to get better. It’s easy to do. But it’s easy not to do, too.”

I want to share some stunning statistics with you that you may or may not know about yourself, your neighbors, and the state of people like you and me in this country:

Average household credit card debt is close to $16,000.
Total bankruptcy filings in 2009 were 1.4 million.
Total U.S. consumer debt is $242 trillion.
36% of people polled didn’t know the interest rate on their credit card.
Over a lifetime the average American pays over $600,000 in interest.
43% of American workers have less than $10,000 in savings.
Only 16% of Americans feel confident in their ability to save enough for a comfortable retirement.

Pretty shocking, huh? Do you fit into one of those statistics? Two of them? All of them? If you weren’t panicking before, are you starting to panic now?

What I did to change my situation is no secret. It isn’t rocket science. I sat down and I gave my goals and dreams deadlines. I looked at each dream I had and I asked myself “by when?” Here’s how I changed my situation: In November 2012 I began to build a business with the help of several friends, some new and some old. I did that by becoming an Independent Distributor with AdvoCare. Before November I had my skepticism to thank for not allowing me to change my situation for the better. I watched my friends change their situations and I finally decided that I had to give it a shot. I mean, what else was I doing besides just letting time pass while moving further away from my goals?

I wasn’t going to be a person that watched things happen anymore. I wasn’t going to be someone that told others what happened or what was happening with my friends’ AdvoCare businesses anymore. It had become time for me to make things happen for myself and change my situation. So I did… and the best part about it is, I’ve helped numerous members of my family and my friends improve their health and finances while doing it. Here’s the million dollar question… are you going to be part of the 5% of the population that does what it takes to change and seek success or are you going to be part of the 95% that is comfortable now only to grow old and find that you’re uncomfortable later? It’s easy to do, but it’s also easy not to do. It’s a simple decision. You have within your discretion the opportunity to improve your health, your relationships, your job situation, and most definitely your finances. You can contact me or you can wait another day, week, month, year or longer until you are finally stressed to the max with your situation. I can only make you this promise about that decision… when you finally do decide to contact me, you’re going to wish you did much earlier.

I asked a few of my friends to write a paragraph or two on how AdvoCare changed their lives. Here are their stories…

Rachel Robinson: In just two months Rachel has earned over $3,000 with AdvoCare!

“AdvoCare, simply put, interrupted my life and gave me crystal clear vision for my future. Before Advocare, I was an exhausted mother of three who poured everything into a job that gave me very little in return. I was overworked, under appreciated, undervalued….and did I mention exhausted? Time I should have devoted to my family and my health was being stolen from me. My only goals were to be able to pay off my husband’s and my student loans before our kids went to college so we could afford for them to go.

After hearing my friend James’ story and trying a Spark for the first time, I knew we might have found something special. My husband and I decided to both try the 24-Day Challenge to jump start the healthy lifestyle we promised to each other in 2013. We lost a combined 15 pounds, 15 inches, and 7% body fat. We lost exhaustion, sluggishness, joint pain, inflammation, skin problems and a whole host of other things but gained an amazing network of people we now consider family through AdvoCare! Because we have been given this amazing vehicle to help others the same way we were helped, we will now be free of student loan debt in 3 years or less and have an amazing vision of what our future will look like!”

Alece Pugh: In just THREE WEEKS Alece has earned over $2,000 with AdvoCare and lost 20 pounds during The 24-Day Challenge! Here is her story:

“I was introduced to the AdvoCare 24-Day Challenge in the beginning of January by my dear friend Kayla Matthews. I joined AdvoCare as a distributor so that I could enjoy the benefit of the discount but not really having the intention of working with the company. As I progressed through the challenge, something changed in me. I began to not only lose weight, but feel better both mentally and physically. After suffering from the side effects of lupus for years, this was the first time In ages that I didn’t wake up aching and physically exhausted each morning. My daily headaches quickly had disappeared and my energy was back. I felt like a new me. This new found confidence and achievement led me to start sharing my success with others. Throughout the challenge I managed to lose over twenty pounds and twenty inches and most importantly, regained my good health and wellness. I naturally wanted all my friends and family to have the same amazing experience. I now have two brothers, a sister in law, most of my friends and several new friends who are experiencing the changes thanks to the Challenge!

My life took an unexpected and much needed turn when I became a distributor with AdvoCare. I now am not only healthy and in the best shape of my adult life, but I have been able to give that gift to the people I love and also earn extra income. The financial freedom I am gaining is life changing. I was able to cover my house note and was left with spare change In the last two weeks alone by devoting a few hours a week to my new passion with AdvoCare The fact that I know I can put money in a college fund for my kids, go to Italy with my husband and free up my time from the millions of hours I work with my other job is a true blessing. I will forever be grateful for the time my friend Kayla took that fateful day in January to ask me if I wanted to join her in a Challenge.”

Those are real life people. Those are my friends. Those are people’s lives I have changed and am still changing either directly or indirectly with the help of others and now they’re doing the same. Do you have any idea what that feels like to give yourself financial freedom and better health while giving that to others at the same time? It’s incredible. You have the opportunity to do the same thing in the same way that I have done it. Wanna start changing your life for the better? Want to start improving your health and financial situation? If you answered yes, then e-mail me, Facebook me, Call me, text me, or ask me in person how I can help you change your current situation.

Turn your “someday” into a “definite day.” Set things into action NOW that will help you reach your “someday” goals. Stop dreaming and start doing. I’ll leave you with this line from John David Mann’s, The Eighth Day of the Week:

“Some day … The eighth day of the week. The only day that never comes. This is the day—this one. Right here. Right now.”

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